Proximal probes based nanorobotic drawing of polymer micro/nanofibers

This paper proposes a nanorobotic fiber fabrication method which uses proximal probes to draw polymer fibers down to few hundred nanometers in diameter and several hundred micrometers in length. Using proximal probes such as Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) or glass micropipettes, liquid polymers dissolved in a solvent are drawn. During drawing, the solvent evaporates in real-time which solidifies the fiber. Controlling the drawn fibers trajectory and solidification in three-dimensions (3-D), suspended fibers, fiber cantilevers, custom 3-D fibers, and fiber networks, are proposed to be fabricated. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer dissolved in chlorobenzene is used to form a variety of suspended polymer fibers with diameters from few microns to 200 nm. Fabrication of crossed and linear networks of fibers is also demonstrated. Viscoelastic modeling of polymer fiber drawing is realized using a finite element method to test the significance of the drawing speed and velocity profile on the extensional behavior of the drawn fiber. Since the mechanical properties of the drawn micro/nanofibers could vary from the bulk polymer material significantly, mechanical characterization of suspended fibers using an AFM and a Nanoindenter setup is proposed. Extending this technique to a variety of nonconductive and electroactive polymer fibers, many novel applications in micro/nanoscale sensors, actuators, fibrillar structures, and optical and electronic devices would become possible.